1. Technical Field
This application relates generally to generating a video pane layout in a recipient endpoint of a video teleconference.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work described herein, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or implicitly admitted as prior art.
A video conferencing system is used to communicate both video and audio between two or more parties, or participants, that are not at a same location. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a typical video conferencing system. In FIG. 8, endpoints, 82, 84 and 86 are connected to a multipoint control unit (MCU) 88 via a network 80. The network can be either private or public, such as the Internet, and may have wireless and wired components. Each endpoint 82, 84, 86 sends image and sound data of a corresponding participant to the MCU 88, which then processes the sound and video data and sends the results to the endpoints 82, 84, 86. The processing performed by the MCU 88 can include merging the video and audio data into a layout for presentation at each of the endpoints 82, 84, 86.
In the layout received by the endpoints 82, 84, 86, a user can view multiple panes of video, usually corresponding to the other participants in the conference and possibly to a content video stream. The user may view the multiple panes of video on a screen of various sizes, since the endpoints can include a large screen mounted in a video conference room, the screen of a personal computer, or even the screen of a telephone or tablet. Moreover, various screen resolutions are also possible and are not always linked to screen size—some 4-inch phone screens have better resolution than a 60-inch monitor.